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Head-to-head

Apollo vs Clay

Clay is our stronger pick on aggregate; Apollo still wins for specific personas.

Verdict

Clay edges out Apollo on aggregate score

methodology →
8.3
/ 10
Pricing
8.7
/ 10
8.3
/ 10
Deliverability
8.7
/ 10
8.3
/ 10
Integrations
8.7
/ 10
8.3
/ 10
Use-case fit
8.7
/ 10

Pick Apollo when

  • You're an SMB or growth-stage sales team that needs lead data + basic engagement on one bill, not five.
  • Your ICP is US tech / SaaS where Apollo's data quality is strongest.
  • You want a free tier to test before committing — Apollo's free plan is actually usable for sub-100 lookups/month.
  • You'd rather have 'good enough' across 4 functions than 'great' at 1 — Apollo's bundle math beats buying ZoomInfo + Outreach + Salesloft separately for SMB volume.
  • Entry pricing matters — $59 vs $149

Pick Clay when

  • Growth teams with at least one ops-shaped person who'll build the workflows. Clay is a power tool — wasted on a buyer who wants a button-press lead list.
  • Teams that want to compose enrichment from multiple sources (Apollo + LinkedIn + ZoomInfo + custom scrapers + AI prompts) rather than pick one provider and live with its gaps.
  • Operators who care about per-prospect personalization at scale and need the raw data + AI prompt orchestration to support it.
  • Anyone whose ICP isn't well-covered by the major databases — Clay's waterfall logic gracefully degrades through 5+ providers.

Apollo

from $59/mo

Try Apollo

Clay

from $149/mo

Try Clay

Side-by-side data

Sort by:
ToolStarts atIntegrationsFree tierAffiliate link
Apollo$59/moTry →
Clay$149/moTry →

Comparison updates

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